Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Conservatives Don't Like Supreme Court Decision On Sniffing Dogs For Enhanced Police Work

OTTAWA -- The Conservatives don't like a Supreme Court judgment that restricts use of drug-sniffing dogs and are hinting they'll draft legislation to expand such searches. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says the government will follow the ruling but must also protect high-school students and the general public from drug pushers.CTV News

At what point are right wing ideologues going to realize that Canadians do not want authoritarian encroachment in our society? Canada's Supreme Court has clearly ruled that law enforcement 'fishing expeditions' do not advance individual and civil rights in this country. The use of dogs as a screening tool is something that authoritarian and totalitarian regimes employ at the cost of individual protection under the law.

A right wing thinker will retort that 'if you are doing nothing wrong, you will have nothing to worry about'.

Stockwell Day wants new laws to justify the enhanced use of sniffing dogs in order to 'protect our youth from drugs'. The potential for abuse by the police is real. One needs only to look at how responsible Canadian police forces have been with tasers as a law enforcement tool.

Chinese Canadians Challenge Tory MP Rob Anders Over Idiotic Remarks

Earlier this month, Anders, a longtime critic of the Chinese government, said the upcoming Beijing Olympics were similar to the 1936 Berlin Games held in Nazi Germany. [...]

The petition addresses Anders and says: "We can understand that you might have been too busy with political issues to have time to check a book out of the library, but we cannot tolerate an ignorant politician making such a ridiculous remark to the public and offending his voters.

"Before you go around castigating others, at least you should hear both sides of the story."Calgary Herald

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

LEST WE FORGET ... all of the idiotic things Stephan Harper said about Canada before he became our leader!

The other day, I did a post that illustrated how Harper is determined to undermine many of Canada's institutions and government. Our Prime Minister constantly advocates that individuals should be responsible for the consequences of their own actions. Well, okay, .... if people should be held accountable for the things they say - here's what Stephen Harper has said about Canada in the past:

"Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. Canadians make no connection between the fact that they are a Northern European welfare state and the fact that we have very low economic growth, a standard of living substantially lower than yours, a massive brain drain of young professionals to your country, and double the unemployment rate of the United States."- Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"Your country [the USA], and particularly your conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world."-Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status, led by a second-world strongman appropriately suited for the task."- Stephen Harper in his article "It is time to seek a new relationship with Canada," December 12th, 2000.

"The NDP could be described as basically a party of liberal Democrats, but it's actually worse than that, I have to say. And forgive me jesting again, but the NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men."-Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance."-Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"What we clearly need is experimentation with market reforms and private delivery options [in health care]."- Stephen Harper, then President of the NCC, 2001.

"We also support the exploration of alternative ways to deliver health care. Moving toward alternatives, including those provided by the private sector, is a natural development of our health care system."- Stephen Harper, Toronto Star, October 2002.

Monday, April 28, 2008

SCIENCE versus FAITH

-Ever wonder how someone could actually believe that Planet Earth is only about 6000 years old and that dinosaurs died out because Noah would not take them on the Ark?

-Ever wonder how the 'Kates' of the world and all of her smalldeadanimals could so viciously reject the fact that 6 Billion humans are having any ecological impact on our planet?

-Ever wonder how someone could actually believe the ideological crap that Bush and Harper spout?

Well I have the answer. Science is much more complicated than Faith. Individuals who are not that intelligent generally reject science and glom onto faith simply because it is easier for their feeble minds to comprehend.

Liberals Make 'Dithering' Their Only Political Tool

"Will this take down the Harper Government? It is hard to say. I am of the view that this is a great time for an election. I don't think Conservatives have been this demoralized since they won the last election. However, while watching Stéphane Dion on Question Period yesterday, I got the strong sense that he is not going to take us to the polls now. He seems to think that as bad as things are, they can only get worse for Mr. Harper. That being the case, Stephen Harper will likely have another summer to try to create new policies and cement his hold on Ottawa. Meanwhile, Mr. Dion will have the summer to release eye-catching policies and try to give Canadians a better sense of who he is."Jason Cherniak

Political junkies will remember when the Liberals unveiled 'Mr. Dithers Version 1.0'.

But for some reason, the public simply did NOT embrace version 1.0. Liberals were stunned that their best effort was rejected by Canadian voters. So off they went back to their political laboratory. They rolled up their sleeves, worked long and hard and gave to us ... Mr. Dithers Version 2.0!How are you liking the new version so far??

Sunday, April 27, 2008

RCMP On Verge Of Major Development In Manitoba Murder Mystery With Saskatchewan Political Connection

"The RCMP have reached a critical stage in their investigation of an eight-year-old murder mystery and will decide whether to “fish or cut bait” by this summer, a Crown attorney told a Winnipeg courtroom Friday.

The suggestion that a development in the case is near came in response to a bid by several local media outlets — including the Free Press — to unseal court documents surrounding the high-profile October 2000 Beverly Rowbotham slaying just north of Winnipeg.

The documents revealed the RCMP immediately identified Rowbotham’s husband, Mark Stobbe, as a suspect in her slaying, yet had been unable to gather enough evidence to file charges. Stobbe has always maintained his innocence.[...]Rowbotham, Stobbe and their children had moved from Regina about five months before the slaying when Stobbe accepted a senior position on the provincial cabinet’s community and economic development committee."Mike McIntyreWinnipeg Free Press

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Remember, US Troops Die In Iraq For A Reason! - too bad the reason is that George Bush is an idiot

Saskatchewan May Be Site For Western Canada's First Commercial Nuclear Plant

"Bruce Power LP, the only private operator of nuclear plants in Canada, will be "encouraged" by its majority owner TransCanada Corp. to look at a variety of locations -- including Saskatchewan -- as it searches for a site to build Western Canada's first commercial nuclear plant."Calgary Herald

Friday, April 25, 2008

Stephan Harper Is Canada's 'Richard Nixon'

"The historian Garry Wills once observed that Richard Nixon wanted to be president not to govern the nation but to undermine the government. The Nixon presidency was one long counterinsurgency campaign against key American institutions like the courts, the FBI, the state department and the CIA. Harper has the same basic approach to politics: attack not just political foes but the very institutions that make governing possible. The state for Nixon and Harper exists not as an instrument of policy making but as an alien force to be subdued.Canadians have never had a prime minister who has literally made his career attacking and undermining the legitimacy of Canadian institutions. Until now."Dimitry Anastakis and Jeet HeerGuardian.co.uk

Saskatchewan Justice Minister In Hot Water Over How Stolen Police Reports Got To Sask Party

REGINA -- The NDP says Sask. Party Justice Minister Don Morgan should resign from cabinet for changing his story (a number of times) about how he knew an individual whom Regina police recently pointed to as the suspect in the leak of confidential police reports.Regina Leader-Post

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Why Is Maxime Bernier Still Minister Of Foreign Affairs???

The only Conservative Member of Parliament who was probably happy to see the RCMP raid on Conservative Party headquarters was Minister Maxime Bernier ... because it got the heat off him for a few days.

The question still remains though as to why this incompetent minister is still sitting at the Cabinet table, and representing our great nation around the globe?

As the Conservatives continue to do damage control concerning the RCMP raid, there is some behind the scenes efforts to try and salvage Bernier as a minister.

Firstly, Minster Bev Oda has been in Afghanistan desperately trying to mend fences with both the Afghani government and the Governor of Khandahar province.

Secondly, the PMO is obviously calling in favours from the likes of the Ottawa Citizen to shore up and justify the complete gaff that Bernier made in his portfolio.

Harper's electoral fortunes will live or die in Quebec. He is desperate to keep Bernier on for all of the politics that having a Quebecer as Minister of Foreign Affairs can bring to him. The question remains, however; why Is Maxime Bernier still Minister Of Foreign Affairs???

Saskatchewan Party Abandoned Confidential And Personal Files When They Vacated Their Old Offices

Saskatchewan's new government was so anxious to get to their new digs that they abandoned boxes of files containing personal case files and other materials. This is the same crew who abandoned the now infamous video tape of Tom Lukiwiski and Premier Brad Wall from 1991 when they were hacks for disgraced former Conservative Premier Grant Devine.

The Saskatchewan Party government is off to a bad start in their new role. They are on the verge of a province wide nurses strike and are being investigated for holding and disclosing stolen files from the Regina City Police.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Finance Minister Flaherty Under Investigation By Ethics Commissioner

Well it's Wednesday and time for yet ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE SCANDAL!

The House of Commons Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, has advised Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that he is under investigation. In fact, Flaherty has now admitted that his office broke government contracting rules when it hired Hugh MacPhie and paid him $122,000 without tender to write the budget speech last year and provide communications advice.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

OUCH! Pierre Poilievre Gets Spanked On Charles Adler Radio Show!

"This whole legal dispute involves Conservative candidates spending Conservative funds on Conservative advertising. Elections Canada wants the power to determine what constitutes a local advertisement and what constitutes a national one. But to do that, they have to dictate what local candidates are allowed to put in their advertising materials. We think that in a free country, candidates decide what goes in their materials, and not a government bureaucrat."Pierre Poilievre

So the Tory pup is supposed to be convincing us that we DON'T NEED an Election Act and we should let ALL parties do whatever the hell they want without restriction!

Listen hereif you want to hear Tory MP Pierre Poilievre get spanked by Charles Adler on his radio show!

Tory Pride Goeth Before Their Fall!

With all of the crap and nonsense coming from the Conservative Party over their scam to bilk taxpayers AND to exceed election spending limits, there is one question that needs to be asked. If their officials and paid professional communications advisers were raising doubts and concerns, why did no one from the Party Office phone Elections Canada at the time and ASK THEM if their proposed plan would be allowable under the regulations? They did not. They are too arrogant. They are in a heap of trouble and they deserve it!!

"While our thinking is that this option would be legal, we are not certain beyond all reasonable doubt."Andrew KrumpfRetail MediaDecember 6, 2005

"(The Conservatives) may be spending up to their legal limit on this campaign. They are also thinking of 'switching' some of the (advertising) time over to the ridings ... Details are sketchy and I am not sure how national or regional TV could constitute a riding expense unless all of the ridings in a region pooled expenses."David CampbellAdvertising ExecutiveDecember 8, 2005

"We always follow the law as it has been interpreted."Prime Minster Stephen Harper

Note Harper's words ... he qualifies HOW Conservatives 'always follow the law' ... they follow it according to how they interpret it! Stephen, one phone call to Elections Canada to inquire as to the rules would have prevented ALL of this. But like a bloody adolescent caught doing something wrong, he is going to hold his ground and 'deny - deny - deny'!

New Saskatchewan Party Government Abolishes 'Office of Energy Conservation' To Celebrate Earth Day

Ms. Sandra Morin (NDP):Well, Mr. Speaker, the Sask Party seems to be long on words and short on action. Mr. Speaker, the now Minister Responsible for Government Services once claimed that, quote “. . . if the agreements — the CO2 agreements, KYOTO come into place, that will be a severe impediment to Saskatchewan . . .”

I believe that the consequences of climate change, regional flooding, droughts, and the spread of pine beetles might be a more serious impediment to our province, Mr. Speaker. The Sask Party has now abolished the Office of Energy Conservation established specifically to help address climate change in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.My question is to the minister. Why should the people of Saskatchewan take anything that the Sask Party says about climate change seriously when they view measures to address it as impediments to Saskatchewan?

Monday, April 21, 2008

Conservatives ALWAYS 'Deny Deny Deny' When Caught Red-Handed!

"I mean, just always remember that if you were to say that I said this or that, it's a crock of garbage. It's just always deny, deny, deny."Colin ThatcherConvicted MurdererConservative Cabinet Minister (Sask)(Excerpt from Police Transcript: 'Operation Wire')

Canada's 'Un-Winnable' War Costs Approaching $1 Billion A Year

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. It shows what mission creep is really doing."Dawn Black, MPNDP Defence Critic

Costs to Canadians of our failing mission in Afghanistan are now approaching 1 Billion dollars per year. War advocates are pretending that we are getting value for our investment. The cost in both Canadian lives and military spending may 'feel good' to those afflicted with Harper's world view but let's not forget that it was Stephen Harper who said:"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status,"Stephen Harper(in his article targeted to Americans, "It is time to seek a new relationship with Canada") December 12th, 2000.

Harper's hard right wing politics came through loud and clear when he headed up the National Citizens Coalition and later when he sat as a Reform Party Member of Parliament. He sees Canada as a failed experiment, and he LOVES Bush's Republican America. He is attempting to remake Canada into some sort of right wing military partner with the U.S.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

NDP Should Keep Digging To Determine How Stolen Police Files Got To The Saskatchewan Party

The main stream media in Saskatchewan are still giving the new Sask Party government kid glove treatment in terms of the pressure they are applying on the matter of stolen Regina City Police files coming into the hands of the governing party. While there is some coverage, it is minor considering the seriousness of the situation:

"New details are emerging about a retired Regina police officer who allegedly leaked confidential documents to the Saskatchewan Party.

Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters Thursday he knows who leaked two police reports from 1992 and 1994, but he won't divulge that information. He also said the person isn't a Saskatchewan Party MLA or anyone with close ties to the party. [...] The retired officer is not a high-profile Saskatchewan party operative and it would violate his right to privacy if he was identified, Morgan said."

So we know that the thief (who was formerly a Regina City Police officer) is NOT a sitting Saskatchewan Party Member of the Legislature (well that is a relief)nor someone who is a party insider!

This is a serious matter. Whether the new government in still utilizing its 'honeymoon' status or not, this is a serious crime and the people demand answers.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

When Tory MP Rob Anders Was A Paid Political Heckler

The Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada has ensured that his pal, Rob Anders has a nice safe seat to run in in Calgary.

Rob Anders has been a Reform Member of Parliament, then an Alliance MP and finally a Conservative MP. Anders graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Before being elected he had worked in the United States for the Republican Party for the 1994 senate campaign of Jim Inhofe in Oklahoma as a professional heckler. In this video link, Anders is the one at the microphone who puts on the 'pinocchio' nose. This earned him the label of "a foreign political saboteur" from CNN. This video is a 'must see'!

On his MP website, he brags that, "he has been supportive of a variety of organizations including: The Fraser Institute, the Alberta Taxpayers Association, the Progressive Group for Independent Business, Canadian Property Rights Research Institute, the National Firearms Association, Responsible Firearms Owners of Alberta, Focus on the Family, Canada Family Action Coalition, St Andrew- Caledonian Society, the Alberta Debate and Speech Association, Parliamentary friends of Tibet, and the Sir Winston Churchill Society."

Thursday, April 17, 2008

"Did anybody think about the optics of this thing?" Conservative Official

Some Conservatives (likely the ones who were NEVER Reform Party MP's in an earlier incarnation) privately questioned the wisdom of the Tories taking a hard line against Elections Canada and the elections commissioner.

Arrogance - thy name is Conservative!

... and it continues ....OTTAWA -- "Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's office ignored the warnings of bureaucrats last year who said there was no "reasonable rationale" to direct a $122,000 contract to a Conservative speechwriter without going to tender, documents show."Globe & Mail

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

self-right·eous(adj) confident of one's own righteousness, esp. when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.

OTTAWA -- Angry Conservative MPs attacked Elections Canada on Wednesday, accusing the non-partisan agency of leaking news of the RCMP raids on the party's national headquarters to the media and to their Liberal opponents.

"Somebody should ask who in Elections Canada invited the Liberal party to make a home video out of the visit to our headquarters. It's very curious as to why Elections Canada would make an invitation to another political party to be part of [Tuesday's] circus," Pierre Poilievre - Conservative MP

Conservative officials stuck to the party line that the raid is directly linked to a civil suit. One of them, speaking anonymously Tuesday, said the police action underlines the party's long-held contention that Elections Canada's case against the party was weak. It is almost 'Mugabesque'

Vancouver 'Transit Police' Taser People For Failing To Pay Fare!

VANCOUVER — "The country's only armed transit police have been tasering passengers who try to avoid paying fares. According to documents provided in response to a Freedom of Information request, police patrolling public transit in the Metro Vancouver area have used tasers 10 times in the past 18 months, including five occasions when victims had been accosted for riding free."The Globe & Mail

"Since the Sask Party originally released the stolen police reports last spring, Justice Minister Don Morgan and Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz are on record as saying they were received just weeks earlier. Krawetz told reporters they arrived at the Sask Party caucus office in a brown envelope.

Two weeks later, Brad Wall told reporters the reports were received in the spring of 2006, and his chief of staff, Reg Downs, revealed just last week that he found them in a brown envelope in his mailbox at home that same year.

Last week, the Regina Police Service issued a news release stating that the “removal and dissemination” of the reports from police headquarters was “unauthorized.”

“To sum up, the Sask Party had illegally obtained police reports in its possession and posted them on its website,” said NDP MLA, Frank Quennell.

“We have four of the most senior members of the Sask Party telling very different stories. It’s clear that someone is providing inaccurate information.”

Here is the key to this mystery ... Reg Down's address and phone number is not listed in the Regina City phone directory - how did an 'anonymous' person from the Regina City Police know where to drop the envelope?!-CBC has more ....

Why Did The University of Calgary Fund Attack Ads Against The Liberals During The Last Federal Election?

"A radio ad campaign that attacked the former Liberal government's climate change policies and participation in the international Kyoto Protocol during the 2006 election campaign was funded through "research" accounts at the University of Calgary, a newly released audit has concluded.

The internal university audit revealed the accounts, which received money from a fund at a community charity organization, collected more than $500,000 in donations."-Canada.com

So Stephen Harper's old Alma Mater has possibly been caught violating the Canada Election Act for funding attack ads against Canada's climate change policies going into the last federal election in 2006. Let's not forget that Preston Manning is listed as a Distinguished Visitor at the University of Calgary with famous students like our current prime minister.

This stinks. Universities should NOT be playing politics ... the police need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Harper Raps Bernier's Knuckles In Public

This kind of thing does not happen very often in Right wing circles - a Conservative Foreign Affairs Minister is reprimanded in public by the Prime Minister:

OTTAWA-KANDAHAR - Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicly upbraided his foreign affairs minister Monday for creating a "misimpression" that the governor of Kandahar should be fired for corruption.

The prime minister's strong language capped what could prove to be a politically damaging trip to Afghanistan by Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier. Bernier told reporters that a key Canadian partner in Afghanistan - the governor of Kandahar - should be replaced. A short time later, the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa issued a statement in Bernier's name retracting that comment, suggesting that Canada has no right to opine on the internal affairs of a sovereign country.

The discrepancy sparked the opposition to call for Bernier's firing and Harper's own characterization of Bernier's performance. "As you know, minister Bernier very quickly corrected a misimpression that I think had been left from some earlier comments," Harper told reporters in Winnipeg."

'Baksheesh' is a Persian word, used to describe certain forms of political corruption and bribery in the Middle East. As unsavory as the concept is to Westerners, 'baksheesh' is a reality of life in Afghanistan (as well as the rest of the middle east and much of southeast Asia). It is part of the day to day business of Afghanistan that sees Canadian aid money lining the pockets and bank accounts of officials at various levels in that country. Proving that the Conservative government has no concept of what 'baksheesh' is, we had Foreign Affairs Minister Bernier encouraging the government of Afghanistan to get rid of the governor of Kandahar province due to corruption:

"Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier directly told Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai that the governor of Kandahar province should be replaced because he is holding up Canadian development aid, CTV News has learned. "Officials tell me that Maxime Bernier told President Karzai in a meeting that Governor (Asadullah) Khalid should be removed, that he was a corrupt governor and that he was holding up development aid," Robert Fife, CTV's Ottawa bureau chief, told Newsnet on Monday.CTV News

"Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has backed away from comments he made that appeared to call on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to fire the governor of Kandahar. Mr. Bernier made the original comments while speaking to reporters in Kandahar on Monday.Globe & Mail

Those of us who have been nervous about the Afghan mission since the day it started are not at all surprised to see our overpaid foreign affairs gurus completely out to lunch, once again, on the quicksand we are bogged down in with Afghanistan!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Being Gay In Stephen Harper's Cabinet

ONE OF Stephen Harper’s senior cabinet ministers is a closeted homosexual. Because the minister’s desire to keep his or her sex life private outweighs whatever public interest there might be in letting readers know about that sex life, reporters never write about it.Stephen MaherThe Chronicle Herald

Video Tapes Of Robert Dziekanski Incident 'Accidentally' Erased

The ongoing whitewash of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for the killing of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski continues with the erasing of all relevant surveillance tapes at the Vancouver International Airport.

VANCOUVER — An investigator says the accidental erasing of hours of surveillance images of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died after being tasered by the RCMP, won’t affect a police probe of the incident. But Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is concerned enough to have asked the Canada Border Services Agency to immediately review the way they handle such materials. [...] Walter Kosteckyj, the lawyer for Dziekanski’s mother, said the loss of all the footage may rob investigators of images that would have provided a context for the events.The Chronicle Herald

So isn't that convienient? Ah well ... the RCMP will be off the hook shortly ... just a little more public relations needed to finish up the 'whitewash'!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

'Citizen journalists' Often There First To Snap Photos

Technology is clearly in the hands of the people. As a result, individuals who happen to be at the right place at the right time are capturing images that now reverberate around the world. Rodney King's beating by L.A. police was one of the first examples I recall of a citizen recording an event that officials would rather had NOT been captured. Since that time, a number of police forces have had to deal with unsavory images of police brutality being made public.

The death of Robert Dziekanski at the hands of the RCMP in the Vancouver airport has brought into question both police tactics and the use of tasers in general by Canadian police forces. At some point, abusive police officers will realize that the internet and citizen journalists have changed the rules of the game!

"The Tibet story is an especially powerful example of the influence digital photography has literally put into the hands of citizens. Citizen journalism showed its muscle during the Southeast Asian tsunami in the winter of 2004, when tourists armed with video cameras, digital still cameras and cellphones captured the first images of terrifying tidal waves ripping apart their idyllic vacation spots. World news was driven and nations mobilized by those amateur images. For mainstream news media, traditionally mistrustful of any material produced by non-professionals, it was a pivotal event."Chris Cobb, Canwest News Service

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Prophet Or Pedophile: FLDS Temple Used For Sex With Underage 'Brides'

FLDS Prophet Warren Jeffs is a convicted felon. We are starting to find out the kind of criminal crap that went on in the name of 'religion'.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - "Adult FLDS men were having sex with underage brides inside the massive limestone temple at the polygamous sect's Texas ranch, a confidential informant told authorities.

A search warrant unsealed Wednesday by a Texas judge said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran learned that information from a confidential informant he has worked with for several years. The warrant says the informant is a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."Salt Lake City Tribune

Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe's Military Coup

"The military leaders in the establishment are trying to subvert the will of the people. This is, in a sense, a de facto military coup. They have rolled out military forces across the whole country, to prepare for a run-off and try to cow the population. It's an attempt to try to create conditions for Mugabe to win."Morgan Tsvangirai

Eleven days after votes were cast there has still been no official result and Presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai (chang gur eye) is touring southern Africa, urging leaders to prevent Zimbabwe from sliding into chaos. Mr Tsvangirai claims he secured enough votes in the March 29 poll to claim outright victory in both parliament and for the office of president.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

"Warman’s not just suing me. He’s suing some of the biggest names in the Canadian blogosphere – from Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals to Kathy Shaidle of Five Feet of Fury (or, Five Feet of Furry, as the lawsuit says on page 2), to Free Dominion, the largest conservative chat site in Canada. Warman’s goal is breathtaking in its chutzpah: he wants to muzzle the Canadian conservative Internet."Ezra Levant

America’s Break With Reality

It is fairly evident to much of the world that the Government of the United States of America has been on a downward spiral away from anything that can be called ‘Reality’ over the last few years..

When the US military attacked Iraq five years ago, Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld all believed and preached that American troops would be showered with garlands and welcomed as ‘liberators’ by the Iraqi people. That did not occur. Nothing even remotely similar to their prediction occurred. Years on, Iraq has degenerated into butchery and the Republican government continues to spout idiotic interpretations of what is happening in that fractured nation.

How could the American government get it so wrong? Do they not pour millions into military intelligence? Doesn't the Central Intelligence Agency have analysts who study the minutia of foreign circumstances and situations?

In his article, ‘Losing the War for Reality’, author Robert Parry writes:”When future historians look back at the sharp decline of the United States in the early 21st Century, they might identify the Achilles heel of this seemingly omnipotent nation as its lost ability to recognize reality and to fashion policies to face the real world.”

Looking back to the Reagan administration as well as those of Bush senior and Bush junior, Parry identifies how right wing ideology began to snuff out pragmatic intelligence in the United States. “One of the target institutions was the national press corps, which came under sustained assault from the Right – with reporters facing accusations of disloyalty and “liberal bias” from both inside the Reagan administration and from well-financed right-wing attack groups.” [...] “Another key institution on the Right’s radar scope was the CIA’s analytical division, which was responsible for supplying objective information about the world’s dangers to senior government officials.”

Right wing political ideology began to trump Reality. It continues to this day.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Demonstrators Demand Lukiwski Resignation

Members of Regina's GLBT community -who refer to themselves as 'The 'B' Team- as well and other unhappy voters gathered outside of Regina MP Tom Lukiwiski's Constituency Office over the noon hour today demanding that he resign. Berlynn has more at Politics 'n Poetry.

Harper Government Quietly Acknowledges The United States Is Unlawfully Prosecuting Omar Khadr

"The chief military lawyer for Omar Khadr says the Conservative government has acknowledged the United States is unlawfully prosecuting the young Canadian for war crimes.

In a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, U.S. Navy Lieutenant-Commander Bill Kuebler says written statements the minister made last week about Mr. Khadr's detention show the government agrees with the defence's core arguments for dismissal of the case."-National Post

It's 'Amateur Hour' At The Saskatchewan Legislature - Oops!

Premier Brad Wall's new Saskatchewan Party government is showing its lack of planning for the current legislative session. After unilaterally delaying the start of the spring session followed by declaring a week off for 'Easter break', the Sask Party House Leader has painted himself into a corner with insufficient hours available to pass their first pieces of legislation as government.

So, in typical right wing fashion, and rather than working with the opposition New Democrats to remedy the problem, Brad Wall's government is attempting to jam, ram and force their changes to Saskatchewan's labour laws through the legislative process.

What they forgot is that an Opposition Caucus has the ability to filibuster in the Legislature. That is exactly what is happening in Regina this week.

New Democrat MLA, Kevin Yates started a filibuster yesterday in the House and it continued all day until 10:30 pm when the rules end the proceedings for the day.

Immediately after Question Period today, Mr. Yates will take the floor again in the debate and will continue to show the Saskatchewan Party government how the British Parliamentary System works.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Olympic Torch Arrives In North America On Wednesday

Lukiwski / Wall Scandal Upstages Harper's NATO Trip

Poor Stephen Harper. While in Bucharest, Romania, attending the NATO Conference, Tom Lukiwski and Premier Brad Wall were getting ALL of the media attention back home!. Some Tory pundits are saying that Harper is ticked off that his 'Victory in Bucharest' has been upstaged by typical right wing shenanigans back in Canada! (Note: the victory being his acquisition of a NATO commitment for an extra 1000 troops to be deployed in Kandahar province).

For a Prime Minister who has tried to portray any dissent to his hawkish war policy as 'pro-taliban' or 'anti-Canadian', he deserves to be left out in the cold.

Harper doesn't believe that polls which show Canadians unhappy with Afghanistan are accurate. His misguided policy on Afghanistan will bite him in the ass politically - sooner, I hope, than later!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Sask Premier Wall Serves Notice To Sue The Canadian Press Over Headline On Video Story

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has advised The Canadian Press he intends to sue the national news agency for defamation for a headline it ran on a story featuring controversial comments he made on a home-movie videotape made more than 16 years ago.

"The headline of the article is false and defamatory of Premier Wall and, given the breadth of its publication, is likely to result in significant damage to Premier Wall's reputation," says the letter from the premier's lawyers, dispatched Friday to The Canadian Press.-Canadian Press

More fallout from the Tom Lukiwski/Brad Wall scandal. Demonstrating a lack of dignity that befits the 'Office of Premier', Brad Wall is saying that he is going to sue Canadian Press.

Premier Wall's communications director, Ian Hanna, would not say if Wall is suing in his own right or as the Premier of Saskatchewan. If he is going to sue as 'premier', his legal costs would be carried by the taxpayers of Saskatchewan. (Let's see if the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has anything to say on that matter!)

This little ploy will be his reason for NOT answering ANY questions concerning the video tape that came forward last Thursday. Wall is sweating Question Period in the Saskatchewan Legislature on Monday, and will likely deflect all questions of him by the Opposition and the Press, by stating that since the matter is pending legal action he will say nothing on the topic.

STORY UPDATE:Saskatchewan's premier says he has withdrawn his threat to sue the Canadian Press over a headline on one of its stories he said had unfairly linked him to controversial comments made nearly 17 years ago that include a homophobic slur by a current Tory MP.

When Eugenics Was Practiced In Alberta: 1928 - 1972

In 1928, the Province of Alberta, Canada, passed legislation that enabled the government to perform involuntary sterilizations on individuals classified as mentally deficient. In order to implement the Sexual Sterilization Act of Alberta in 1928, a four-person Alberta Eugenics Board was created. These four individuals were responsible for approving sterilization procedures. During the 43 years of the Eugenics Board, it approved nearly 5,000 individual sterilizations, and 2,832 procedures were actually performed. The province of Alberta was the first part of the British Empire to adopt a sterilization act, and were the only ones who vigorously implemented it. [...]

The Alberta Eugenics Board was constructed in order to administer the sexual sterilization program. In section 3, the Act called for a four person Eugenics Board to determine, on a case by case basis, whether sterilization was appropriate for a particular individual. The Act gave the Board power to examine people discharged from mental health institutions, and to direct sterilization if deemed necessary. Not only was unanimous decision required, but consent, either from the patient, parent, or guardian, was essential for the surgical procedures to proceed. The Act put in place specific requirements for the board members: Two of the Board members were required to be medical practitioners, nominated by the Senate of the University of Alberta and the Council of the College of Physicians. The other two non-medical practitioner members were appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and had to be well-known and of prominent reputation. [...]

Over all decades, aboriginals were the foremost targets of the Eugenics Board’s attention. [...]. In the last few years that the Alberta act was in place, Indians and Métis comprised about 27% of the sterilizations, although they were only accountable for 2.5% of the population. Furthermore, 74% of all aboriginal cases presented resulted in sterilization, which was alarmingly high – 14% above the average for all cases.

The provinces of Alberta and British Columbia were the only Canadian provinces that practiced Eugenics.Currently, right wing revisionists, trying to discredit former Premier of Saskatchewan, Tommy Douglas, are quick to point out that his 1930 Master’s thesis was on the topic of eugenics. During a trip to Europe in 1938, where eugenics was medically practiced, he changed his views. Douglas was elected Premier of Saskatchewan in 1944. Eugenics was never practiced in Saskatchewan. Eugenics was practiced in Alberta under the premiership of William Aberhart and Ernest Manning (father of Preston Manning).

Saturday, April 05, 2008

First Nations University Of Canada POW WOW On This Weekend

The First Nations University of Canada kicked off the prairie pow wow season today with the start of a two day event at the Brant Centre in Regina. Anyone in or around the city of Regina should drop in.

Archbishop Of Ottawa Announces Two New Exorcists - (Must be an increase in Satanic possesions in the nations capital)

In December, 2007, Pope Benedict announced that he would be increasing the number of exorcists in the Church: "The Roman Catholic Church has vowed to 'fight the Devil head-on'by training hundreds of priests as exorcists. Father Gabriele Amorth, 82, the Vatican's Exorcist in Chief, announced the initiative amid the Church's concerns about growing worldwide interest in Satanism and the occult. According to plans being considered, each bishop would have a group of priests in his diocese who were specially trained in exorcism and on hand to take action against "extreme Godlessness".

On the heels of that announcement, the Archbisop of Ottawa has annouced that his archdiocese has retained two new exorcists (one french - one english) to deal with what must be assumed to be a large increase in Satanic possessions.

" ... ordinary sinning doesn't seem to interest demons much; they go for people reading horoscopes, playing around with New Age spiritualities, lonely, alienated kids getting into a Goth lifestyle, and especially anyone having a fun night with a Ouija board. Even that yoga class at the community centre might be suspect. Exorcists talk about "opening a door" to the demonic, meaning that not everyone who reads their horoscope will tumble to the depths of hell, but that anything that loosens a Christian worldview loosens the soul."Ottawa Citizen

Friday, April 04, 2008

April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Assassinated

On this day 40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was taken from us by an assassin's bullet. The advances that Black people made to gain their full civil rights in American society can be directly attributed to the leadership of this great man.

I remember this day 40 years ago. Rarely has there been a darker day than April 4th, 1968.

"Early morning, April 4Shot rings out in the Memphis skyFree at last, they took your lifeThey could not take your pride

In the name of loveWhat more in the name of love?"

Photo of Dr King speaking to massed crowd by the Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, on May 17, 1957 during a "Prayer Pilgrimage" organized by the civil rights movement - Courtesy Time Inc.

Sask NDP Call For Conservative MP's Ouster For Homophobic Remarks

When the Saskatchewan Party vacated their old opposition offices at the Provincial Legislature in November, they left behind something that they will wish they hadn't.

The Saskatchewan NDP Caucus has released the transcript of some old video that shows Regina Conservative Member of Parliament, Tom Lukiwski making some very negative anti-gay comments. With him is now premier, Brad Wall (speaking with a foreign accent - imitating Roy Romanow supporter) and disgraced Conservative Senator Eric Bernston. It appears as if the group was having a party during the 1991 Saskatchewan election when they were all Progressive Conservatives working for re-election of the Grant Devine machine. Here is a sample from the tape:

TOM LUKIWSKI: "Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases."

CBC is reporting:"The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the prime minister to throw a Conservative MP out of the party caucus over homophobic comments he made in 1991.

The New Democrats in Regina released a DVD to the media Thursday which the party said contains a recording of Regina-area MP Tom Lukiwski making disparaging remarks about homosexuals.

The NDP said it found the 17-year-old tape when it moved into the Opposition offices at the provincial legislature.

"How did I feel when I viewed it? I think I can say disturbing — his comments were disturbing, and it made me feel rather sick," said New Democrat MLA Pat Atkinson.

Shortly after Atkinson released the tape to media in Regina, New Democrat MP Bill Siksay raised the matter during question period in Ottawa.

The B.C. MP said the video showed Lukiwski referring to "homosexual faggots with dirt under their fingernails who spread diseases."-CBC Saskatchewan

Commons Committee Probe Of Taser Use and Dziekanski Death BEHIND CLOSED DOORS!?

If there is ANY inquiry that deserves public scrutiny, it is the death of Robert Dziekanski at the hands of the RCMP and the use of tasers in general by Canadian police foces. However, Members of Parliament will hold closed-door meetings Thursday with RCMP, border and airport officials on the use of electronic stun guns in Canada.

The House of Commons Committee on Public Safety and National Security is holding two days of meetings at Vancouver International Airport, where Robert Dziekanski died after RCMP stunned him with a Taser and knelt on his neck last October.

The public safety committee is studying the growing use of Tasers in Canada, where more than 6,800 officers are armed with the stun guns, and investigating the events surrounding Dziekanski's death. A committee report of these secret meetings will be provided to the House of Commons at some future time.

Committee member and Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh told CBC News he was surprised to learn the briefings would not be open to the public.

Coffee Linked To A Lower Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease

Coffee has already been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease, and a study by a US team for the Journal of Neuroinflammation may explain why. The "blood brain barrier" is a filter which protects the central nervous system from potentially harmful chemicals carried around in the rest of the bloodstream. UK experts said it was the "best evidence yet" of coffee's benefits.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Mugabe's Ruling Party Loses its Majority in Parliament: No Official Word Yet On Presidency

Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party has lost its majority in parliament according to the latest official result from the Zimbabwe Election Commission! The Zimbabwe Election Commission's latest results indicate that the MDC and its allies will have an historic, small, parliamentary majority. ZANU-PF has held the majority in parliament since independence from Britain in 1980.

Stanford Mukasa, a journalism professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, believes Mugabe is running scared. “There is panic behind the scenes. He sees his party is splitting up, and he is realizing that the military is also divided between supporting him and accepting a new government. The top brass might still support Mugabe, but ordinary soldiers who have not been paid for months and have seen the welfare of their families disappear are not going to obey.”

Mukasa believes that the long delay between the voting on Saturday and the announcement of the results has partly been to buy time for ruling party bigwigs to filter stolen money out the country and hide traces of complicity in past crimes.

If anyone had any doubts that the Saskatchewan Party is ideologically similar to Kate's smalldeadanimals beliefs, this episode should lay that to rest! In past, Sask Party Members of the Legislature and senior staff have used SDA as a reference in numerous speeches and other pronouncements!

Kate insists that her references to 'needle-popping', 'ass-selling' inner city residents is mere hyperbole. That is completely ridiculous! Real hyperbole is clearly identifiable as exaggeration (I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!). Kate's material is NOT hyperbole. It is a reflection of the deep contempt that she holds for inner city poor. She has a very vile view of the world and is rightly condemned for it!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

"Saskatoon Massey Place MLA Cam Broten called on Premier Brad Wall to distance himself from the radical and hurtful statements made by one of his prominent supporters, Saskatchewan blogger Katherine McMillan of smalldeadanimals.com.

“Ms. McMillan's statements were petty, hurtful, and offensive,” Broten said. “By associating himself with Ms. McMillan and as a result lending her credibility, Brad Wall is exhibiting extremely poor leadership and bad judgment”.

UPDATE: Premier Wall was caught by reporters after Question Period today and quickly tried to put distance between himself and Kate M. He could NOT confirm if she is a member of the Saskatchewan Party or if she has ever received any work or funds from the Saskatchewan Party Caucus.Sean In Saskatchewan has much more detailed information on this story .....

Mugabe 'brokering deal to quit'!!!

BBC is reporting that Robert Mugabe is in talks with military chiefs and opposition politicians, concerning his departure from the office of President of Zimbabwe. The negotiations are chaired by South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki

Talks were still continuing, with no deal signed, according to the reports.

If Mugabe does agree to stand down he is expected to make the announcement in a TV address to the nation.

If he does not step down the public consequences will be serious.

Opposition candidate for president, Morgan Tsvangirai said he believed his Movement for Democratic Change had won Saturday's election but declined to declare himself the winner. Military leaders who are loyal to Mugabe have said that if the Opposition declares 'victory' it will be treated as a coup by the army.

New Government Should Shorten The Name Of The Province Of 'SASKATCHEWAN'

It is painfully obvious that although Saskatchewan is an easy province to draw a picture of, it is difficult to both say and spell.

In view of the fact that BOTH the Premier of Saskatchewan and the Prime Minister of Canada cannot spell the name correctly, the new Brad Wall government is hereby urged to shorten the name of this great prairie province to 'S-A-S-K-W-I-N'!!